The Interactive Website of the Novel by Emma Chapman

On Being Creative

by Emma Chapman, author of How To Be A Good Wife

I just found this amazing video. To me, it summarises what you need to do to succeed at what you are passionate about. It’s important to remember that you’re never going to be good at something when you first begin. I have learnt this from experience.

When I first moved to Australia, I was working in an art gallery and I met a well known artist. His artwork looked so effortless and inspired that I thought he must be naturally gifted. He told me that when he teaches art, he always shows beginners his early sketches and paintings for one reason: to show people how terrible they were. It said it would be easy for him to pretend that he had always been good at art, but the reality was that he worked really hard for many years to improve. He said that if you work at something 6-7 hours a day, every day you can, you will become good at it.

When I heard him say that, it really gave me hope. I had finished the first draft of my novel at this point, but it wasn’t good enough: I felt that gap between what I wanted it to be and what it was. To hear that with enough determination, anyone can get better at things was a real turning point and has affected the way I look at writing and other parts of my life.